BUTTE, Mont. –
Nick Calzaretta rushed for a career-high 247 yards and a touchdown, leading the College of Idaho to their eighth-straight victory, a 28-14 win at Montana Tech inside Alumni Coliseum.
The No. 15-ranked Coyotes (2-0, 2-0 Frontier) rolled up 347 rushing yards in the victory – improving to 2-0 in Frontier Conference play for the first time in program history.
Calzaretta recorded the third-most rushing yards ever by a Coyote – using a 61-yard outburst in the second quarter to set up a
Justin Hellyer 2-yard scoring run and a 7-0 lead at the break.
While the C of I defense forced the Orediggers (0-1, 0-1) to punt or turn them over on downs on their first nine possessions – the offense found their stride after halftime. On their first drive of the third quarter,
Darius-James Peterson connected with
Hunter Juarez on an 88-yard touchdown pass to double the lead.
Following a Tech punt, the Yotes grinded out a 14-play drive, converting four third down opportunities, capped by a Peterson 7-yard touchdown pass to
Canyon Olsen on the first play of the fourth quarter to push the lead to 21-0.
C of I was driving to add to their lead midway through the final period, but a fumble gave the Diggers life. Jet Campbell found Trevor Hoffman on a fourth down jump-ball in the end zone – one of 11 receptions for the sophomore – to cut the margin to 21-7.
Calzaretta put the game away on the ensuing drive, rushing five times – the last a 58-yard scamper – to regain the three score lead. His 247 rushing yards were the most since Ted Martin ran for 267 yards in a 1953 win over Idaho State – and behind the school record 297-yard effort by Tom Winbigler against British Columbia in 1948.
Peterson finished 10-of-17 for 163 yards, while rushing for 55 yards. Juarez had two grabs for 107 yards, with
Connor Gagain leading the team with three receptions for 23 yards.
Jed Fike led Tech with 101 yards on 22 carries, including a late 1-yard touchdown run to close the scoring. Campbell was 17-of-27 for 218 yards, but was sacked four times by the Coyote defense.
The Yotes return home next Saturday for a Homecoming match-up with No. 20-ranked Southern Oregon at 1 p.m.
NOTES: The eight wins in a row by the Yotes is the third 8-game win streak in program history, joining a string of eight wins between 1934 and 1935 and the school record 14-game win streak between 1952 and 1953…the Coyote defense held Tech to 336 total yards, including just 118 on the ground…defensive backs
Isaiah Abdul (12 tackles),
David Ford (10 tackles) and
Josh Elsberry (9 tackles) were key in stopping the run, with
Graham Carnahan,
J.T. Mahon,
Landon Clark-Gammell and
Demetreus Taua each recording sacks…C of I averaged 7.4 yards per carry on the afternoon, finishing the day 8-of-13 on third down conversions, while limiting Tech to 3-of-12 on third down…the 88-yard pass to Juarez was the second-longest in program history – only surpassed by a 93-yard pass from Lon Troxel to
Cisco Limbago in 1968…the win was the Yotes sixth in a row in Montana, dating back to 2017…the C of I offensive line did not allow a sack in the victory.
